Our team has been created to provide commercially experienced professionalism across a range of specialisms to accelerate corporate development.
As you would expect, we also have a network of contacts across media that we work with on specific assignments.
Debbie McMurray (CIS) (CIMA) is an expereined CFO to multiple international manufacturing and service companies has given her an incredibly broad experience in financial management including risk analysis, treasury, sustainability, controls, installation of new accounting software, planning and forecasting, financial team structuring, analytics, forensic accounting and reducing forex risk.
In her spare time she enjoys relaxing in her garden, planting beautiful flowers, reading and having family barbecues with her children and walking her two golden retrievers.
Dione (Dee) Hicks, ACA provides financial reporting, taxation support to our clients navigating compliance, investor readiness and tax planning. However frustrating and confusing accounting and compliance might seem, Dee’s unflappable approach and extensive experience supporting SMEs and their owners helps deliver a practical and considered outcome.
With two active teenagers, Dee’s weekends are busy with trips and pitch-side support but she also enjoys getting out for a run around the hills of Bath.
Erhun is a certified and experienced bookkeeper working towards the ACCA qualification. She is particularly knowledgeable with Xero and is an Excel guru. Erhun comes from a background of working with startups and supporting them with payroll, bookkeeping and monthly reports.
Erhun has an immense love for travelling and has visited over 15 different countries. She also enjoys playing basketball and will usually play with her in her local basketball league once a week.
Fiona Colliver, CIPD is an experienced HR professional who provides practical and strategic support from employee engagement to disputes and restructuring programmes. She started her career in Financial Services, at Man Group and Credit Agricole, gaining a broad array of experience before moving to Insurance (Mercer). After a move to Somerset and self-employment she’s enjoyed working in a whole range of sectors with companies all over the UK.
Fiona has two young children and a very active Labrador, so when she isn’t working she can be found at the park, on school runs or on long walks with the dog. When she finds time she enjoys running and reading.
Jo Clayton qualified as a solicitor with Eversheds, working in private practice for a number of years before moving in-house to Future plc, latterly heading up the legal team. Jo has extensive experience in drafting and negotiating commercial contracts, both on the supplier and customer side, as well as intellectual property and data protection issues. She likes to present legal advice in a pragmatic, down to earth way and takes time to understand and then concentrate on the real risks to her clients in the context of the deal she is advising on.
When not at work or on taxi duties, Jo enjoys time in the hills, running, cycling, walking her dog, reading and spending time with the family.
Currently Strategic Partnerships Lead at Google’s Wing and previous senior roles including at AirBnB (Partnerships Lead), Business in the Community (Lead for public/private partnerships) and Lloyds Bank Plc (Chief of Staff), Joanna Bunker has extensive experience and a natural flair for developing high performance teams based around a vision for change, despite sometimes challenging contexts. Her thinking provides an inspiration for boards to adopt practices combining profit and non-profit mindsets and to overcome reputational and compliance challenges (whether internal or external). Joanna is available for non-executive and board advisory roles.
Joanna is a passionate international traveller.
Kate Bryan is a qualified solicitor. Having worked in private practice and inhouse, her commercial experience includes her role as Senior Legal Counsel at Eurostar and Director, Data Protection Officer at NYSE listed Royal Caribbean Group. Kate provides data protection and privacy advice and general commercial support to clients.
In her spare time, Kate plays piano and hits the gym.
With a background in market research coupled with years of senior level management in a fast-paced media environment, Kerry can provide general business mentoring, consultancy to support both management and teams and research-led projects to provide insight into your business, your products or your customers.
Kerry is an avid reader of books and can usually be found on her Kindle. In her spare time she loves to travel and has enjoyed some far flung adventures with her family to destinations such as Bhutan, Costa Rica and Japan (as well as to the caravan in Cornwall!). She also enjoys spin sessions at her local gym and taking her very active dogs on long country walks.
Lee is an experienced technical and strategic focused individual with over 25 years of Digital experience across a broad range of sectors including finance, defence and infrastructure. His responsibilities centre around supporting and delivering high-quality solutions to complex business problems underpinned with a clear focus on achieving the best business outcome aligned to the organisation’s strategy.
His qualifications in digital architectural change management are complemented by his flexibility to engage with senior and technical stakeholders.
He has built his career around a skill set that he has honed through his life which is a passion to inspire others and leave a legacy of empowered people that strive for and achieve their aspirational futures.
Lucy is a seasoned media professional with over 20 years of experience working both
agency and client side. She has worked for some of the worlds biggest media and retail
brands including Amazon, Google, Conde Nast and Future Publishing where she innovated and championed growth. Lucy has held senior leadership and strategy positions at a number of agencies including Digitas LBi, 20:20 and Dialect managing both international and domestic media portfolios for clients included Logitech G, Audi, Dyson, Disney, Nivea, Natwest & Boots Plc.
Lucy is a keen horticulturalist, dog walker and any other excuse to don Wellies.
Nina Day has more than 14 years’ experience in an in-house legal environment with Future plc, and subsequently has worked independently on either a retained, ad hoc, or project-by-project basis, with a variety of clients, both small and large. Her specialities include commercial, intellectual property rights, company secretarial and acquisitions/disposals.
Nina enjoys spending as much of her free time as possible with her beloved horse, Steel, competing at one day events and hacking out with friends. Luckily for Nina, her husband enjoys supporting them as unofficial photographer, chief treat-giver and groom…
Richard Spilsbury FCA, FRSA founded Link Stone Advisory following roles as finance director and corporate development director at Future plc and Play Sports Group and assurance and assurance and advisory work at PwC. He supports clients with scale up, fundraising, business development, restructuring, exit and M&A based value creation (both transaction and beyond the deal).
Richard is a regular cinema and theatregoer; he also enjoys history and art, and sometimes tries his hand at sketching too. He keeps fit cycling and trail-running when he’s able to take time off from taxi and pitch-side duties for his teenage son.
Sarah Youll ACA CTA trained at PwC, worked in hospitality and is our tax expert. Sarah is passionate about working with business owners and their management teams to help them understand and develop their internal processes and financial position so they can grow their business to its full potential. Sarah is comfortable working with all sizes of companies from small owner managed business through to international groups.
In her spare time Sarah runs a small holiday letting business on the North Cornwall coast and loves nothing more than finding an old derelict cottage to renovate (much to her husband’s horror!)
Vanessa Rooth is our EA, tirelessly working behind the scenes to support the team.
She has over 15 years of experience undertaking a variety of PA and EA roles across many industries from film to corporate to private. Vanessa’s values and skills of organisation, communication and integrity are attributes she applies to all her clients and their businesses.
In her spare time, Vanessa enjoys gardening (still learning), taking her dog for beach walks and supporting her children with their many activities!
Daisy. OK, she sneaked in, and we’re working on it.
